Hat-ironing machine



(No-Model. -2 Sheets-Sheet 1."

. R EIOKEMEYER. I

' HAT IRONING MACHINE. No. 290,408.- Patented Dec; 18, 1883.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet. 2;.

R EIGKEMEYER. HAT 1110mm MACHINE.

Patented Dec. .1 1883.

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TATES ATENT Orricn.

RUDOLF EICKEMEYER, OF YONKERS, NEWV YORK.

HAT-lRONlNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 290,408, dated December 18, 1883.

I Application filed October 10, 1883. tNomodel.)

ing hat-block, and adapted to ironing the brim, side crown, and tip of a hat, whether such machines be organized as shown and described in my Letters Patent dated December 30, 1873, No. 145,934, or otherwise; but for the purposes of illustration I now show and describe my said improvements as applied to such a machine as is shown and described in my Letters Patent No. 240,312, April 19, 1881.

One object of my present improvement is to enable the operation of ironing the brims, side crowns, and tips of hats to be more easily performed, and thereby enable an operator to perform more service in a given time than heretofore without adversely affecting the quality of the work. This end is attained by me in having the hat-iron so mounted and connected with a treadle that the operator can employ either foot for forcing the iron against the had-whether the ironing-surface be in a vertical position, as when working against the side crown of a hat, or horizontal, as when working upon the tip of a hat, and a little to the one side of the axial line of the hat-block, or still farther removed from said axial line, and in a lower plane, as when working upon the brim of a hat, thus enabling the operator to employ his hands solely for moving the iron into and out of working position, and for varying its position according to the portion of,

the hat to be ironed, instead of also relying upon his hands and arms, as in prior machines, for applying the requisite pressure.

I have alsoso mounted the hatiron upon its hand-lever that pressure is always applied to the ironin a line practically at right angles to its working-face, regardless of the position of the iron or of the particular portion of the hat with which said surface may be in contact, and therefore a fine and thoroughly even surface can be assured throughout all portions of the hat.

To particularly describe the several features of my invention, 1 will refer to the accompanying two sheets of drawings, wherein, Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a partial front View and ver tical section of so much of a hat-ironing machine as is deemed necessary for illustration, and in which the hat-iron is shown to be working against the side crown of a hat. Fig. 2, Sheet 2, is a partial side view and vertical section of the upper portion of said machine, showing the hat-iron in working-contact with the-tip of a hat. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a partial top view and horizontal section of Fig. 2, showing the hat-iron in working-contact with the brim of a hat.

It is not deemed necessary to herein describe the details of construction to which my prescut improvements do not pertain, as they can be readily comprehended, if desired, by reference to my aforesaid Letters Patent No. 240,312, dated April 19, 1881.

The hat-block A is, as usual, mounted upon a vertical spindle, and the revolving brim-iron B is mounted and can be used for ironing the under surface of abrim, or only as a support for ironing-bed for the hat-iron, as set forth and described in my said Letters Patent, and the frame of the machine is substantially as in my prior machines. The hat-iron O is provided with a stem or arm, a, projecting at right angles from its back, which is hinged or pivoted at 1), near the back of the iron, to ahandlever, c, midway of its length, and this handlever is in turn pivoted at its rear end at c to the foot of a sleeve, (Z, which stands at right angles to the hand-lever hinge or pivot, and is rotatively mounted upon a stud, e, which at its base is provided with an axial arm, f, housed in a suitable bearing and standing at right angles to said stud. The bearing for the axial arm f is within a bracket, f, pro jecting from the frame of the 'machine. The hand-lever c, at its outer end, is hollow for the reception of a cross-handled ste1n, g,which can be moved in or out for lengthening the hand-lever, and it is readilysecured'therein by the set-screw g, This featur,e of rendering the hand -lever longitudinally extensible is novel, and will be found of practical value, 'as it enables each workman to adjust the lever to such length as renders it most convenient for his manipulation.

As thus far described, it will be readily seen that the hand-lever can be rotated, as on its own axis, by reason of the axial arm f, which in one sense is an axial prolongation of the fulerumed end of said lever; also, that the said lever can be freely swung to and fro in planes at right angles to the stud a, whether the latter be vertical or rotated on its axial arm f, so as to be horizontal orso as to occupy any intermediate inclination; also, that said lever can be freely swung to and fro inde-' pendently upon its fulcrum hinge or pivot b, and it will be obvious that with these three pivotal connections I have provided for the hand-lever a strong and effective universal joint, whereby the working-face of the hatiron can with equal facility be applied to the tip, the side crown, or the brim of a hat, A.

For causing the working-face of the hat-iron to always occupy a practically horizontal plane, regardless of the elevation of its handlever, as when working upon a hat-tip and then upon the brim, I employ a controllinglink, h, which is pivoted at one end, as at h, to the outer end of the hat-iron stem (1, and at its opposite end, as at 71;, to the outer end of the rotative sleeve (1.

As the length of the link is equal to the distance between the pivot b at the hack of the hat-iron and the fulcrum-hinge c of the handlever, and as the distance between said pivot b and the link-joint his equal to the distance between the hand-lever hinge c and the link-j oint h it is obvious that whether the working-face of the hat-iron be in contact with the brim or the tip of a hat, said face will be always horizontal and parallel with the surface of the hat, and that when in those positions or in contact with the side crown, all pressure applied to the hand-lever will always be exerted upon the hat-iron in a line substantially at right angles to its working-face.

For the first time, as I believe, I have so organized a hat-ironing machine that the foot of the operator can be relied upon for affording the requisite pressure of the iron upon a hat, regardless of the plane which the working-face of the iron may from time to time be made to occupy.

At the lower portion of the frame of the machine I have mounted a rock-shaft, i, on which a treadle, k, is secured at a point conveniently accessible to the foot of the operator, and said shaft has also a lever'arm, Z, which is coupled to the hand-lever c by a cord or chain, m, so that when the hat-iron is working upon the tip of a hat, the power of the treadle is directly applied for inducing a truly vertical pressure.

For enabling the treadle to force the hat iron against the side crown of a hat, a grooved loose guide-pulley, a, is employed, over which the upper end of the cord at draws laterally when the hand-lever is turned down sidewise into a horizontal position, as seen in Fig. 1, and said pulley also causes the upper end of the cord to draw slightly sidewise, but mainly vertically, even when the hatfiron bears upon the brim of a hat, as seen in Fig. 3, and when bearing against the side crown or upon the brim, the iron is freely moved sidewise to and fro, because of the elliptical form of the hatblock.

The hats are usually secured to the block by means of a cord applied at the junction of the side crown and brim; and to enable the hatiron to work as much below said cord as possible, said iron is provided at one side of its working-face with the usual thin flange, as seen at 0.

It will be readily obvious that with a ma chine as described-the operator need use his hands only for changing the position of the hat-iron, and that the requisite pressure can be wholly afforded by his foot, the system of leverage being such that but little force need be applied to the treadle; and it will also be obvious that with the delivery of the pressure upon the hat always in a line at right angles to the face of the hat-iron, and the said face being always parallel with the axial arm f, an even, fine finish upon the hats can assuredly be obtained.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the hat-iron, a hand-lever having at its fulcrum a universal joint, and a treadle coupled with said hand-lever for forcing the working-face of the hat-iron into contact with all portions of a hat, as set forth.

2. The combination of the hat-iron having a stem projecting from its back, the hand-lever, and the controlling-link pivoted to said hat-iron stem, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the hat-iron, of a longitudinally-extensible hand-lever, substantially as described.

RUDOLF EIGKEMEYER.

Vitnesses:

R. EICKEMEYER, Jr., GEORGE NARR. 

